East Anglia: Good Food Near You: Good Food Channel

The Food of East Anglia

Boasting the Fens to the north and Suffolk hills to the southwest, it's hardly surprising that East Anglia offers such a bountiful harvest of fresh and flavoursome produce. Try some regional recipes:

Jumbleberry jam

Potted crab

Summer beets with orange and chive dressing

Harvest time

The pea harvest in Lincolnshire is a particularly busy time for farmers. Peas are picked according to their sugar content, and frozen within the hour to keep them "sweet as the moment the pod goes pop". The exact moment for harvesting peas is closely watched for, and often occurs at night. It's quite an experience to watch floodlit viners running up and down huge fields gathering what is our most loved frozen vegetable.

Fresh from the market

The Fens, with its fertile black soil, excel in producing marvellous market garden produce. Cabbage and lettuce are extensively grown in the fields around Ely. Expect a plethora of orchards in Wisbech, with trees hanging heavy with plums, apples and pears. A third of British potatoes are grown in this area - they're noted for their fine flavour.

England's granary

Norfolk is also wheat and barley country, and late summer sees the area's narrow medieval roads and tracks blocked by massive combine harvesters in readiness to bring in the harvest.

Suffolk asparagus

Suffolk is famed for asparagus - its sandy soil, perfectly suited to growing this much-anticipated seasonal treat.

Although superb summer fruits are found throughout the region, no one can deny that locally grown turnips have a notable quality too.

Succulent meat

Pig farming is a tradition in this area, and most good butchers will stock locally reared free range pork. Lamb, grazed on the nearby salt marshes, has a particularly delicate flavour and succulence.

Catch of the day

And of course then there is the sea. Anyone who visits the coast will head for fish and chip shops, where local potatoes and freshly caught fish give us England's national dish at its very best.

Cromer crabs and more...

Cromer has a fine reputation for its crabs - smaller than their Cornish cousins, many connoisseurs feel that these crabs are sweeter in character.

Small boats from Kings Lynn catch shrimp for potted shrimp - a local delicacy. Brown and pink shrimps are fabulous, and nothing beats the fresh from-the-sea flavour of locally caught lobster.

Dover sole, fished by inshore boats, herald the arrival of summer, while spiky sea bass is a sure sign of the onset of autumn. Sprat dinners are a traditional staple and boning these small silver fish is a locally acquired skill.

Fill your shopping basket

Farm shops, allotment stalls, farmers markets, and 'pick you own' fruit and vegetables from fields, provide rich pickings for fans of good quality, locally sourced food. When matched with superb seafood and tender meat, they provide a feast of regional flavour.